Review: Doe by Rebecca Barrow

DoeDoe by Rebecca Barrow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Doe is a YA Horror novel that weaves in elements of Fantasy and a touch of Magical Realism. The writing isn’t your typical, natural prose. It does read like a novel in verse, and that is one of the tags here on GR, but I’m not sure how accurate that is. I’m no expert on verse, or poetry.

I enjoyed listening to the audiobook though. It had a magical feel about it, with a darker subtext shadowing all the action. Well, that is until it came out of the shadows. In this way it reminded me a lot of Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin, which I loved when it released in 2020.

This novel follows a high school cheer squad. Mainly via Maris, the Captain of the squad. The girls are like a family, as it seems to be them against the world.

Though they don’t get a ton of respect from their fellow classmates, or really even their families, they love what they do and always stand by each other. They’ve worked hard for their places together, as a team.

When their Coach, who they practically worship brings in a new girl, Genevieve, an outsider, who Coach raves about, to join the squad, there’s an instant rivalry between Maris and the newcomer. Maris is not about to let some tumble queen newbie come in and steal everything she’s worked for.

Then there’s Doe, an ancient, decaying beast trapped in the form of a deer for decades. There’s a whole long history to Doe that I won’t get into here, just know she’s tied to the town and she’s on a bit of a mission.

Maris dreams of Doe, and they form a bond, but she doesn’t know that Doe actually exists. If called upon, if summoned, could Doe help her get rid of Genevieve?

You’ll have to read it to find out.

I liked this. It’s definitely different, and while I’m not sure I got everything out of it that the author wanted me to, I still enjoyed my time with it. It was refreshing to have a different style of narrative structure, and I loved the idea behind Doe.

I also was a high school cheerleader, though it sounds like our squad had quite a bit more success than this squad, I could definitely understand the friendships the girls had and their drive to show up for one another. The bonds of teammates run deep, as they should.

Overall, I’m happy with this one. I appreciate that Barrow took a risk with this, and wrote something a bit outside the box. I don’t think it will be for everyone, but for the Readers that enjoy the writing style, I think it could really hit.

Thank you to the publisher, Nancy Paulsen Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to more from Rebecca Barrow.

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Review: That Which Feeds Us b Keala Kendall

That Which Feeds UsThat Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

That Which Feeds US is a Gothic Hawaiian YA Horror story that follows a young woman, Lehua, searching for her missing twin sister, Ohia.

Lehua and Ohia, like many other native Hawaiians, are part of the Hawaiian diaspora, meaning they no longer live in their ancestral homelands. Lehua and Ohia were moved to Arizona by their Mom, and spent a good part of their childhoods living there with their grandparents.

Meanwhile, back in Hawaii, the home of generations of their family, luxury resort locations abound, providing dream vacations for the world’s wealthiest citizens.

Kōpaʻa Island Resort is just one of those exclusive destinations, and Lehua discovers it’s also Ohia’s last known location. She ends up following her sister’s trail there. The luxury wellness retreat is known for its persimmon orchard and promises of rejuvenation.

There’s no wifi, and no cell service. Visitors are completely cut off from the rest of civilization. While the rich and famous may find this refreshing, Lehua finds it unsettling and stifling. Nevertheless, she has to see it out. She needs to find Ohia and this could be her only chance.

As Lehua investigates, she learns more than she ever expected about the former plantation’s dark past, as well as the history of the people that lived there. Through haunting visions and mysterious warnings, Lehua fights to find the one she loves, but will she be successful, or end up swallowed up like so many others before her?

This is an important story, and it’s equally a very good story. This is representation that we don’t see a lot of, or at least I haven’t come across a lot of it, particularly in the YA Horror, or Thriller/Dark Fiction space.

I feel like I first heard the term, ‘priced out of paradise’, when Iam Tongi, a Hawaiian singer, who was a contestant on American Idol, mentioned it when explaining to the judges why he and his family no longer lived in his native state. This novel does an amazing job of exploring that very real life concern of many native Hawaiians.

I love Iam Tongi, and I’m so grateful that he won. I hope he’s been able to fulfill his dream of moving his family back to Hawaii, but not a lot of people are going to blessed enough to come into the kind of success he has in order to move back with costs the way they are currently.

In this story, Lehua and Ohia are orphaned by the time they’re teens. They come up in a system that has no connection to their cultural heritage. Ohia, in an effort to reconnect with their past, finds a spot working in this resort that’s essentially exploiting the lands of her ancestors. That was her only choice, she felt.

I liked how Kendall framed this story as Lehua’s hunt for Ohia. I think that set up really well a situation where Lehua could travel to this place and really dig into all aspects of it in order to find clues of Ohia’s fate. With this, it was an easy jump for Kendall to incorporate the real life horrors of the colonial past of the island, and the true ramifications it had on generations to come.

For me, that was the aspect I most appreciated about this novel. The exploration of those topics and the way that Lehua was able to come face to face with those realities via her investigation.

The weaker points for me were the pacing and the descriptions of the horror bits. I found the plot to be a bit meandering and I would have liked Kendall to lean even more into the botanical side of the horror elements, or as an alternative, more into a sense of place for the resort.

The horror at the resort, or the unsettling aspects of the resort, seemed to be the people. It wasn’t as much for me the atmosphere that was making it disturbing. I would have liked even more exploration of things that Lehua was feeling, smelling, sensing just around the place in general.

However, this has excellent bones and I think for Young Readers, the audience for which it is intended, this could be an incredible introduction to Supernatural Thrillers.

I also think there should be a copy of this in every high school library in the country for teens to have access to this type of critical representation.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Random House Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m definitely planning to read more from Keala Kendall and I hope she keeps on this same track. I’m sure we’re going to have a long and beautiful relationship.

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Review: We’re All Going to Die Tonight! by Veronica Bane

We're All Going to Die Tonight!We’re All Going to Die Tonight! by Veronica Bane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We’re All Going to Die Tonight! is a fun and engaging YA Thriller, with a classic set-up and plenty of twists. We follow a debate team, traveling home from an unsuccessful meet. Since it’s a long journey, they’ve booked an Airbnb for the night, courtesy of one of their wealthier teammates.

The isolated mansion is perched atop a high hill and is said to be an exact replica of the Vandamm House from Hitchcock’s North by Northwest.

Before they can quite reach the house though, their van gets a flat tire, stranding them in the middle of nowhere in a heavy storm. They’re close though, so they decide to walk through the woods to the house.

Once they arrive, they’re drenched and tired, and honestly, pretty sick of one another. With 7 teammates, and 3 chaperones, even this mansion feels too small.

The storm increases and ends up knocking out the power, because of course it does. As the teens stumble around in the dark, trying to figure out what’s going on, they discover a severed landland, one of their friends unconscious after an attack, and a dead body outside.

The night has spiraled out of control, and with no idea who the killer might be, tension reaches an all time high. They have no idea who they can trust? Is the killer one of them, or is there a stranger lurking somewhere on this property?

This was a quick and entertaining read. I loved the set-up and the setting of the secluded mansion. I did find the outcome a little predictable, but still had fun, nevertheless.

The group of characters is super messy. There’s so much drama amongst them all, not just with the kids, but with the chaperones as well. I was sitting back with my popcorn just taking it all in.

I did feel like Bane maybe showed her hand a little too early, as far as who was behind it all, but maybe that’s just me coming at it with a lot of years of Horror experience.

It is for a YA audience, and perhaps some of the clues may not seem as obvious to someone just getting into the genre, or with a bit less insight into how these scenarios tend to play out. Maybe I’m just that good. ((LOL))

I didn’t need to be surprised by the outcome to enjoy it though. It was still a thrilling ride, and I loved the complicated, OTT-character dynamics. There was plenty of motivations for murder flowing around this group.

I’ve never read anything from this author before, but she’s definitely been added to my list of YA Thriller authors that I keep on my radar. I’ll never get too old for YA Thrillers, or Horror. I love the captivating stories that can be found within these genres in this age group. They’re generallly a bit less serious than novels in the Adult space, but no less enjoyable, IMO.

Thank you to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would definitely recommend this to other YA Thriller fans. It’s a great time!

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Review: Black Point by Jacqueline West

Black PointBlack Point by Jacqueline West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Black Point follows Lucia Sorenson, a teen living in a small Wisconsin town set on the banks of the Mississippi River. Lucia’s Mom has been pushing her hard to apply to colleges for next year and to get out of town as soon as she can, but Lucia doesn’t want to leave.

Lucia’s aging Grandfather runs a local Viking Museum that houses a record of the town’s history and Norse traditions. Lucia feels it’s important for her to remain in town and to help keep the Museum running.

There’s no doubt the town is changing, and Lucia wants to do her part to help keep the memory of where they came from alive. One significant change is the fact that the Black Point Hotel, a 150-year old landmark property, that’s been vacant for decades, has recently been purchased by an outsider (boo, hiss) and is being renovated.

Lucia meets the new owner’s teenage nephew, Max, and they have a bit of an instant attraction. As the two grow closer, chatter around town increases about these newcomers. That’s sure to happen in a small town, but Lucia finds getting to know Max a fascinating prospect. Maybe the outside world does have something to offer afterall.

Max ends up discovering some unsettling things within the hotel, but Lucia doesn’t want to believe her beloved town could be harboring sinister secrets. As the river rises though, more secrets are brought to the surface, and it’s clear the town’s dark past can no longer be denied.

Will Lucia ignore the truth, or will she finally be the one to bring it to light? And will her new friend help her, or end up being her biggest liability?

This was good. I found it entertaining and enjoyed the classic creepy town vibes that West delivered. I liked the characters and overall concept, but would have like almost everything to be a bit more well-developed. It felt a bit too surface level, especially in the later half, IMO.

I feel like West could have leaned even more into the development of the mysteries of the town, and actually even more into Lucia and Max’s new friendship. It all went very, very quickly, and then the concluding bits got slightly muddled once the action picked up.

At the end of the day though, it was an entertaining read targeted perfectly for the YA crowd. I think a lot of Young Readers will really enjoy this one, particularly those who already enjoy Horror Fiction.

I do actually think this could translate well to the big screen. I’d definitely watch this movie. I think the atmosphere alone could make a fun flick. Maybe that’ll happen someday. Great concept; not my favorite execution, but a really strong showing, nevertheless.

Thank you to the publisher, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

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Review: Adam, Mine. by K. Ancrum

Adam, Mine.Adam, Mine. by K. Ancrum
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Adam, Mine. A love letter to Frankenstein. A Queer Romantic story following Victor Frankenstein, and the teen boy who would become his monster, his curse, Elias Hilfiker.

This story does incorporate many elements of the original source material, but Ancrum absolutely brings her own passion and spin to the story. I enjoyed the set-up, meeting Victor, and the events that brought him and Elias into contact, but after that it did start to lose me.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked it. The audiobook was well narrated, and I thought the story itself was good. K. Ancrum is a beautiful writer, I just think in this moment, it wasn’t the right book for me.

I wanted a bit more darkness and sinister vibes, but I should have known from the synopsis that it would lean more in the direction of seriousness and romance.

Because of the mismatch of my mood to the story, I ended up being bored by the 2nd-half in particular. It became something very one note for me. I felt no real variation in intensity, and it definitely lost my attention over time.

I have read from K. Ancrum in the past, The Wicker King, which I absolutely loved, and honestly, the tone of this is fairly similar. That’s why I’m confident that it’s a me problem, not a book problem.

I know that a lot of Readers will really enjoy this, but sadly, it just did work for me at the time that I read it. Additionally, it’s only been 4-days since I finished it, and I literally remember next to nothing. That’s never a good sign.

With this being said, please don’t let my lackluster review keep you from picking it up. If you love K. Ancrum, the story of Frankenstein, or think the synopsis sounds intriguing, you should absolutely give it a go. You could end up finding a new favorite.

Thank you to the publisher, Harper Collins Children’s Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I wish I would have picked this up in a different moment, I feel like it could have been a different experience.

Nevertheless, I have to be honest, and this one sort of missed the mark for me. I’ll absolutely be picking up more from K. Ancrum in the future though, so this doesn’t phase me a bit. We can’t love them all.

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Review: Lights! Camera! Frendo! (Clown in a Cornfield #4) by Adam Cesare

Lights! Camera! Frendo!Lights! Camera! Frendo! by Adam Cesare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Lights! Camera! Frendo! is the highly-anticipated 4th-installment to Adam Cesare’s Teen Scream Slasher series, Clown in a Cornfield.

I’ve enjoyed the trajectory of this series. It feels like an ode to Teen Scream and Slasher movies, with this installment being no exception. Cesare is clearly a huge fan of this subgenre of Horror and it shows on the page.

In this installment, we’re heading back to Kettle Springs where a big budget movie focusing on the original Kettle Springs Massacre is ready to start filming. Sabrina Alvarez, a young, fairly unknown actress, has been selected to play the role of Final Girl, Quinn Maybrook.

Sabrina is nervous. It’s a huge role for her, and it’s her first time being on a shoot like this on her own, without her Mom. The rest of the cast and crew already seem well-acquainted, so she’s definitely the new girl on the block.

The director’s methods are also not what’s she is used to, but for the most part, everyone on set is friendly and welcoming. It’s the town itself that seems off.

And it’s Kettle Springs, so you know her instincts in that regard are correct. There’s definitely something off.

We follow along, via multiple different perspectives, as this film tries to get off the ground. Not everyone in Kettle Springs is happy about the exposure.

It’s not long before bodies start dropping again. Who’s going to be the Final Girl this time?

This was excellent. I enjoyed it so, so much. I loved the Scream 3 feel of a movie being made on the Kettle Spring Massacre. All the actors and actresses, it was fun to follow them on the set and watch as things started to get unhinged in a real Kettle Springs kind of way.

I recently read Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror, which covered the making of the Scream franchise, and a lot of the different elements Cesare included here involving the cast and crew, reminded me of things I learned in that book.

I think Cesare did a great job making the film shoot feel believable, and then pulling in the Frendo lore and the rest of the town as well. We also see some old favorite characters again, like Cole and Rust.

For me, this is the best installment since the 1st-book. I loved being back in Kettle Springs. It was a great set-up, with copious creative kills and a solid continuation of the lore. I am so pleased with how Cesare concluded it. Will we be blessed with a book 5!?

Thank you to the publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I highly recommend this series to Horror fans, and this book in particular if you’ve already started this series. I’m hoping we get at least one more book!

I don’t want it to end!

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Review: Bridget & Gabe Are Not Okay by Lex Croucher

Bridget & Gabe Are Not OkayBridget & Gabe Are Not Okay by Lex Croucher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bridget & Gabe Are Not Okay is the 2nd-book in Lex Croucher’s The Camelot Disasters series. This is a Queer Medieval YA Rom-Com series that is a reimagining full of Arthurian lore.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never read any of the original source materials that make up the backbone of these characters and lore. I have only ever partaken in adaptations and retellings, but I have read and watched a lot of those.

For me what sets Croucher’s versions apart is the humor and the beautifully-developed characters. This group of characters are just so lovable, but also relatable, and their interactions together are top shelf. I love them.

Whereas the 1st-book focused on Gwen and Arthur, and the peculiarities of their relationship, this 2nd-installment focuses on Gwen’s crush, the lady knight, Bridget Leclair, as well as the newly-crowned King Gabriel (Gabe).

Bridget was actually my favorite character from the 1st-book, due to the descriptions and personality that reminded me so much of Brienne of Tarth.

In this book, we find Bridget has lost their spark, and Gabe too has been struggling since the battles of the first book, having lost his father and his arm.

Don’t let this fool you though, there’s still plenty of humor and heart-warming interactions to enjoy. I also really enjoy following along with characters as they work through personal struggles. I appreciate how Croucher allows the characters to communicate openly and honestly as well.

Arriving at the end, I realized I didn’t want it to stop. The concluding bits had some fun little inclusions that I’d love to see expanded, particularly in regards to a wizened old man they came upon. I’m really hoping we get at least one more book in this series. I’m not sure what the actual plans are, but I’d happily pick up another installment.

I’d also highly recommend the audiobook if you have that available to you. The narration by Kishore Walker and Theodora Taylor somehow feels very time period appropriate. I’m not sure what it is, the accents, or just the delivery, but it truly transports you into the story.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me withcopies to read and review. This series introduced me to Lex Croucher and I’m super grateful for that!

I look forward to more.

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Review: We Were Never Here by Sophia Hannan

We Were Never HereWe Were Never Here by Sophia Hannan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

We Were Never Here follows three estranged friends, Georgia, Circe and James, who reunite to finish a task they set out to do months ago. They need to steal a prized painting from a haunted mansion on their school campus.

What could go wrong, you’re probably asking, and the answer to that is a lot. Back in July, the three, along with their other friend, Jules, had tried to steal the painting while filming an episode of their YouTube Ghost Hunting show.

The result of that mission was Jules, dead, with a knife in her chest, and Georgia waking up in a pool of blood with zero recollection of what happened.

Oh, and they didn’t get the painting.

Now it’s October, and the buyer for the painting is back, and he wants it. No excuses. They agree to get back together and try one more time. They need to put this to rest.

Unfortunately, haunted houses never rest and the three are about to enter another nightmare. Will they all make it out alive this time? And what’s the deal with this painting?

Y’all, I’m not going to drag this out. In no way, shape or form, was this for me. I didn’t enjoy any of it, really; not the writing, the characters, the plot, or even the overall tone.

I do love the cover though. The art style and colors, it drew me to it immediately. I really wanted to love this and while it had a solid concept, the execution fell flat, IMO.

It felt like it was 700-pages long. It just dragged and dragged. It’s completely morose. There’s no nuance at all in the pacing, or energy; very one note.

It also somehow felt like it was trying to do too much, while simultaneously not doing much of anything at all. James was the one beacon of hope, but even he couldn’t save it for me.

I’m sure Readers for this exist. They’re out there and I’m hoping they find it and love it. Perhaps someone with a bit more patience than me, or with less of an urge to eye roll all the drama at the end. Sadly, that Reader isn’t me, and I’m ready to put this far behind me.

Thank you, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. On to the next!

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Review: Better the Devil by Erik J. Brown

Better the DevilBetter the Devil by Erik J. Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Better the Devil is a YA Psychological Thriller that’s both dramatic and entertaining. It reads like one of the After School Special movies I used to love when I was younger.

I’m not throwing shade when I say that either. I’m serious. I loved those things, and a lot of popular celebrities starred in various episodes. I felt like this story captured a cinematic quality that could translate well to the screen.

In this story, we’re following a gay teen who is forced to run away from home after his extremely religious parents threaten to send him to a conversion camp. For him, it’s the logical next step, but unfortunately, extended life on the streets is very tough.

The teen is forced to do things that he never thought he would have to do, like stealing food to survive. When he gets caught shoplifting food from a store, he gets brought into a police station. While there, he notices a missing person poster with a boy on it, whose age progression happens to look shockingly like himself.

The missing boy’s name is Nate Beaumont. When the police ask him his name, he says Nate Beaumont. It’s the only thing he can think to do, but boy, oh boy, he could never have expected the insane can of worms that one choice would open.

The police are shocked. They know who Nate Beaumont is. He tells them he’s escaped from his captors, but he has no memory of anything prior to his escape. He’s taken to the hospital for assessment and the Beaumont family is notified.

The boy, now calling himself Nate, recognizes that things are quickly getting out of hand, but he assumes they’ll do some sort of tests, DNA tests or something, that will give him the time he needs to escape. But that doesn’t happen, and before he can make his escape, the Beaumont family is welcoming him home with open arms.

The next thing he knows, he’s at their house, at Nate’s house, swept up into their family. He has to play along, bide his time until he can figure out his next move.

The Beaumonts are such an enigma to him though. They’re nurturing and loving, so unlike his own family. He could get used to this, but then disturbing events start happening.

Someone is targeting Nate. Someone who probably knows the truth, that Nate isn’t who he says he is, but who? And more importantly, why?

Nate, along with his new friend, Miles, start digging for answers, but we all know, sometimes the past is best left buried. Will they be able to to figure out what happened to the real Nate, or will the baddie stop them before they get the chance?

This is a good novel. Many aspects of it were gripping. For me, the pace was off a bit, and I’m not sure I feel the author was really able to balance the serious aspects of this story with the more cinematic, entertaining aspects. A lot of it sort of gave me the ick, what Nate was doing.

I do understand his motivations, for sure. Brown did do a good job of building that up, and he still makes Nate a character you have great empathy for, but I don’t know, I still felt a little queasy at times, NGL.

I did end up loving many of the characters in here though. Not just Nate, but also his neighbor Miles, Miles’s dog, Chardonnay, and Nate’s Grandma Sharon, were all super fun and brought a lot of humor to the story.

I would recommend this to YA Thriller Readers, particularly for its actual target audience. I can definitely imagine teens really getting hooked into this one. I’ve never read any other work from Erik J. Brown, but I’m looking forward to doing so in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, HarperAudio Children’s, for providing me with a copy to read and review. The audiobook narration from Daniel Henning was excellent and definitely channeled the overall vibe of the story!

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Review: Beware the Abbott Boys by Chelsea Abbott

Beware the Abbott BoysBeware the Abbott Boys by Chelsea Ichaso
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A year ago, the small town of Silver Creek was shattered when popular high schooler, Mariana Flores, was killed in a car explosion. Even though the police ruled out foul play, the local rumor mill tells another story.

Ask anyone in town and they’ll tell you the Abbott boys had to have been involved. Granted, they do work as mechanics and had been working on Mariana’s car just prior to the incident, but still, there’s no evidence.

The Abbott boys, triplets, Henry, Bram and Adam, are used to the town chattering about them, but they were close to Mariana, so her death hit their household very hard, and the allegations didn’t help matters.

Hayden, the girl next door to the Abbotts, knows they’re innocent. She’s Henry’s best friend, but she feels a special connection to each of the brothers and she knows they wouldn’t have done anything to harm Mariana.

When the new school year starts, another popular high school girl is found dead in the woods abutting the school.

When security camera footage reveals a figure seen entering the woods with the victim, it’s clear they’re wearing a special hoodie. One with a giant A on the back. A hoodie all three of the Abbott brothers own, but which one was it?

To clear their names, Hayden begins an investigation of her own, but the deeper she digs the more she starts to question, how well does she really know the Abbott boys?

I had a lot of fun with Beware the Abbott Boys. It’s a great YA Mystery-Thriller, full of drama and all the things that go along with that. The characters were well-imagined and I feel like Ichaso did a great job building up the intensity.

The mystery of it was fairly simplistic, NGL, but that didn’t retract from the enjoyment I had going along for the ride. Clearly, I’m not the target audience for this, but in spite of that, I still really enjoyed my time with it and can appreciate how much a Teen audience would love this.

Honestly though, with this being said, I love YA Mystery-Thrillers and Horror. I don’t think I’ll ever stop reading them. I’ll never age out of the category.

I like all the drama, and how deeply the characters feel their emotions. It reminds me of a simpler time in my own life, and each story feels nostalgic almost in their own way. Also, the stakes don’t tend to get as serious, and frankly depressing, as Adult dramas.

But that’s just me…

I would highly recommend this one to YA Mystery-Thriller Readers. For me, Ichaso’s books are getting stronger and stronger as she goes and I’m looking forward to whatever she writes next.

Thank you to the publisher, SOURCEBOOKS Fire and Tantor Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This is one of the most engaging YA Thrillers I’ve read this year, and I’m very happy I made time for it!

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